John specialises in employment law and health and safety.

John advises many of New Zealand's top companies on employment law issues. He provides pragmatic and incisive advice on a broad range of matters, including disciplinary and personal grievance hearings, collective bargaining, disputes between unions and employers, employment contracts and service agreements, termination packages, workplace–related stress and bullying, restrictive covenants, confidentiality, and superannuation (including KiwiSaver). John also has extensive experience of providing strategic and integrated advice on business reorganisation, mergers and acquisitions, and redundancy programmes.

In conjunction with his employment practice, John has extensive experience in health and safety. He has many years' experience advising clients on options for managing their workplace obligations and for improving their performance in this business critical area. John's experience includes incident response management, defending prosecutions laid by WorkSafe, advising on investigation processes for complex situations, including for alliances with international parties, governance advice, reviews of health and safety systems, and delivering training.

John regularly attends mediations and appears in the Employment Relations Authority, Employment Court and in the District Court as defence counsel on WorkSafe prosecutions.

John is a member of the Auckland District Law Society Health & Safety Committee; and the New Zealand Institute of Safety Management.

Chambers Asia–Pacific 2024
Employment

Leading Lawyer

Asia Pacific Legal 500 2024
Labour & Employment

Leading Lawyer

The International Who's Who Legal Labour 2021
Employment & Benefits

Global Leader

Work Highlights

Fonterra Co–operative Group

Personal grievance claims, claims for breach of contract and implied indemnities, and disputes over the interpretation of employment contracts.

Westpac

Representing Westpac in various claims by both individuals and unions in both the Employment Relations Authority and Employment Court.

Department of Corrections

Successfully defending various claims for unjustified dismissal and unjustified disadvantage.

Watercare

Representing the Company on employment matters and advising on health and safety obligations including advising on a high profile explosion in a watermain resulting in a fatality and serious harm to employees and contractors. This involved providing extensive advice and guidance to the company and dealing with the Police and MBIE over a period of two years from the date of the accident through to sentencing.

Auckland Council

Advising extensively on the health and safety obligations of various business units and the leadership team, and reviewing and advising on safety plans.

Fletcher EQR

Providing advice and representation into asbestos management issues arising in the Christchurch rebuild.

Fletcher Building Group

Defending prosecutions in relation to serious harm arising from use of machinery, cranes, and hoists.

Areas of Expertise

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